Utah State senior quarterback Chuckie Keeton is among 17 college football players named to the Bleacher Report's Initial 2014 Heisman Trophy Watch List that was released Tuesday. (photo from Athletics website)

Utah State University senior quarterback Chuckie Keeton is among 17 college football players named to the Bleacher Report's Initial 2014 Heisman Trophy Watch List released Jan. 21.

The Heisman Trophy, presented annually since 1935, is the most prestigious award in sports. It is named after famed college football coach John W. Heisman.

Keeton, who is one of nine quarterbacks on the watch list, is the only player from the Mountain West to make the list. Entering his senior campaign, Keeton ranks fifth among active quarterbacks at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level in career completion percentage (.665), sixth in passing efficiency (151.4), and seventh in touchdowns responsible for (70).

Keeton, a 6-2, 200 pound quarterback from Houston, Texas, (Cypress Creek HS) was one of 30 players named to the first edition of the 2013 Heismanpundit/CBSSports.com Heisman Trophy Watch List as a junior a year ago, but played in just six games before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter against BYU Oct. 4. Prior to his injury, Keeton had completed 136-of-196 passes for 1,388 yards (231.3 ypg) with 18 touchdowns and just two interceptions, while rushing for another 241 yards on 55 carries (402. ypg/4.4 ypc) with two more scores. Overall, that completion percentage of 69.4 percent breaks his own single-season school record set in 2012, while his 18 touchdown passes rank tied for ninth all-time in school history.

Through his first five games of the 2013 season, Keeton ranked second in the nation with 17 touchdown passes, while also ranking first in the Mountain West and second in the nation in points responsible for (22.8 pg), second in the MW and 22nd in the nation in passing efficiency (161.6), third in the MW and eighth in the nation in completions (26.4), third in the MW and 11th in the nation in completion percentage (.710), third in the MW and 18th in the nation in total offense (317.2 ypg), and fourth in the MW and 25th in the nation in passing (272.4 ypg). Keeton also tied his own school record with five touchdown passes in a game twice during his junior year, doing so in a 52-20 win at Air Force and again in a 70-6 home win against Weber State.

During the 2012 season, Keeton set single-season school records for touchdown passes (27), passing yards (3,373), completions (275) and completion percentage (.676), while tying the single-game record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 121 yards at Louisiana Tech.

Along with earning first-team all-league honors as a sophomore, Keeton was also named the WAC’s Offensive Player of the Week four times during the course of the season as he had at least two touchdown passes in 10 games and rushed for a touchdown in eight games, while throwing for at least 300 yards three times in the last five games of the season and five times overall.

In all, Keeton concluded his sophomore season completing 275-of-407 passes for 3,373 yards with 27 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also ran the ball 129 times for 619 yards (47.6 ypg) with eight touchdowns.

For his career, Keeton is 517-of-777 passing for 5,961 yards with 56 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions with a completion percentage of 66.5 percent. He has also rushed for 1,153 yards on 252 carries (4.6 ypc) with 14 touchdowns. Overall, Keeton ranks first all-time in school history in completion percentage, second in touchdown passes and completions, third in total offense (7,114 yards), sixth in passing yards, seventh in passing attempts and 24th in rushing.

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